Tony Bellew Says Itauma and Azim Learned Nothing From 21-Year-Old Tests
tony bellew said Moses Itauma and Adam Azim learned nothing from their recent stoppage wins over Jermaine Franklin and Steve Claggett. He argued the pair are being moved too carefully, with neither getting the kind of test that prepares them for world-level opposition.
On March 28, Itauma stopped Franklin in five rounds. On May 30, Azim halted Claggett inside three rounds, and Bellew said those wins did not add much to either fighter’s development.
Itauma, Franklin and the heavy-bag line
Bellew’s sharpest point was about Itauma. He said the Claggett fight was like Franklin for the heavyweight prospect and called it useless. He added: “What I can’t get me head around with Moses Itauma… you just said the ceiling is, for Adam Azim, you don’t know what the ceiling is, you think this kid could be pound-for-pound. That’s what you’re basically saying.”
He then went straight at the matchup itself: “But I’m just, like, why are you sticking him in with Jermaine Franklin? That’s not gonna tell us anything.” Bellew also said Itauma was not learning anything by teeing off on a heavy bag.
Azim, Claggett and the same criticism
The same criticism reached Azim. Bellew said, “It’s the same with Adam Azim. He has got a long career, and I think (Itauma)’s the boy who’s gonna light everyone up. But (Itauma) ain’t learning nothing by teeing off on a heavy bag. And Adam Azim’s not gonna learn nothing. He learned nothing in that Claggett fight.”
Azim’s three-round finish over Claggett came on May 30, but Bellew’s point was that the result told him little about where the light welterweight contender stands when the level rises. Itauma’s five-round stoppage of Franklin carried the same problem in his view.
Ben Shalom backs the plan
Ben Shalom defended the matchmaking strategy during the same discussion, citing the fighters’ ages and the commercial realities involved in building future stars. That leaves the split in plain view: Bellew wants tougher examinations now, while the other side is still trying to shape two 21-year-old prospects without moving too fast.
For readers tracking both fighters, the issue is not the win totals. It is whether the opponents on their recent run have left them better prepared for the step up that comes next.
